Historian: Libya a "wild card"

BENGHAZI, Libya — Rebellion threatens to turn into a Libyan civil war as armed rebels braced for a showdown Monday with troops loyal to dictator Moammar Gadhafi, only 30 miles from the capital city, Tripoli.

Anti-government forces in Zawiya, just west of Tripoli, were surrounded by heavily armed forces loyal to Gadhafi. The Gadhafi loyalists also set up checkpoints along the main road between Zawiya and the capital, looking to stop any incursion of anti-government forces....

"Libya is a wild card because it lacks the stability and institutions that the others have," said Will Hanley, an assistant professor of history at Florida State University. "If (Gadhafi) falls, there's essentially a blank slate."...